Reports by de Congressionaw Research Service, usuawwy referred to as CRS Reports, are de encycwopedic research reports written to cwearwy define issues in a wegiswative context.[1] Over 700 new CRS reports are produced each year;[1] awmost 4,000 exist.[1] The types of CRS reports incwude Issue Briefs (IB), Research Memos (RM), and Reports, which appear in bof Short (RS) and Long (RL) formats.[2]

Contents

Oder dan a passing generic reference to “reports” in its statutory charter, CRS has no mandate for dese products.[3] They are created in de context of de overaww mission of CRS to provide research support to Congress.[4]

The Library of Congress, de home of CRS, had experimented during de 1940s wif unrestricted pubwication Pubwic Affairs Buwwetins, which were produced by staff of de Legiswative Reference Service, and devoted to various pubwic powicy issues. They were promoted by Archibawd MacLeish, de Librarian of Congress, and, among oder topics, addressed timewy powicy issues, such as American nationaw defense. About 100 Pubwic Affairs Buwwetins were generated [4] before congressionaw appropriators ended deir production in 1951.[5]

When de Congressionaw Research Service Review was waunched in 1980, it continued for a wittwe more dan a decade before congressionaw appropriators, once again, invoked fiscaw cwosure wif de wast issue pubwished v. 13 #9 (Sept. 1992). The Review, which was pubwished ten times a year and avaiwabwe to de pubwic by subscription, offered originaw anawyticaw articwes, summaries highwighting CRS research products, and oder kinds of assistance to de congressionaw community.[4]

However, in a passage anawyzing its own wiabiwity under United States copyright waw, de CRS has written dat its works may contain copyrighted information, but dat dese excerpts are awways "appropriatewy credited":

"CRS may incorporate preexisting materiaw in its written responses to congressionaw reqwests. Awdough such materiaw is often from pubwic domain sources, in certain instances de materiaw, appropriatewy credited, may be from copyrighted sources. To de extent dat de materiaw is copyrighted, CRS eider: obtains permission for de use; considers its information-gadering function protected by de speech or debate cwause; or bewieves dat de use fawws under de "fair use" doctrine of de Copyright Act as appwied in de context of de wegiswative process."[7]

CRS adds dat:

"Awdough CRS obtains permission to reproduce certain copyrighted works, de permissions are generawwy based on wegiswative use and de expectation dat dissemination is wimited to Members of Congress."[7]

CRS written work products faww into dree major categories:(1) Congressionawwy Distributed Products Providing Research and Anawysis on Legiswative Issues, (2) Responses to Individuaw Members and Committees, and (3) Legiswative Summaries, Digests, and Compiwations.[8]

Congressionawwy Distributed Products Providing Research and Anawysis on Legiswative Issues itsewf is broken into two subcategories: Reports for Congress and Congressionaw Distribution Memoranda.

Reports for Congress: CRS often prepares reports for Congress, anawyses, or studies on specific powicy issues of wegiswative interest. These reports cwearwy define issues in wegiswative contexts. Anawysts define and expwain technicaw terms and concepts, frame de issues in understandabwe and timewy contexts, and provide appropriate, accurate, and vawid qwantitative data. The content of de report is summarized on its first page. These reports may be updated as events occur, or archived when dey no wonger refwect de current wegiswative agenda but can provide background and historicaw context.

Congressionaw Distribution Memoranda: Simiwar to de reports, memoranda are prepared when de interest of a rewativewy smaww number of congressionaw readers is anticipated or when an issue is sufficientwy transient dat CRS deems it inappropriate to incwude it in its wist of products. Memoranda can be recast as a report if it becomes important to a warger congressionaw audience.

Responses to Individuaw Members and Committees: CRS staff provide custom services for Members and committees and deir staff, taiwored to address specific qwestions, and usuawwy in a memorandum format. Written documents incwude Confidentiaw Memoranda, Emaiw Responses, and Briefing Books.

Confidentiaw Memoranda: Confidentiaw memoranda are prepared to meet a specific congressionaw reqwest and are often designed for a congressionaw reader wif a high wevew of expertise in a given topic. These memoranda are prepared for de use of de reqwester and are not distributed by CRS to a warger audience unwess de reqwester gives permission, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Emaiw Responses: Emaiw responses to reqwest for information can range from providing a statistic or a name to a short briefing to an interactive discussion on a variety of issues.

Briefing Books: Prepared for use by congressionaw dewegations travewing abroad, dese books are cowwections of materiaw dat support de specific purposes of a congressionaw trip. Briefing books can incwude a variety of materiaws, such as maps, sewected products, and brief taiwored written work, aww of which contain background and current issues regarding U.S. rewations wif specific countries on de trip as weww as qwestions Members may ask when meeting wif government or oder officiaws.

Legiswative Summaries, Digests, and Compiwations: Since 1935, de Legiswative Anawysis and Information Section (formerwy de "Biww Digest" section) of CRS has had de statutory responsibiwity for preparation of audoritative, objective, nonpartisan summaries of introduced pubwic biwws and resowutions and de maintenance of historicaw wegiswative information, uh-hah-hah-hah. Detaiwed revised summaries are written to refwect changes made in de course of de wegiswative process. This CRS office awso prepares titwes, biww rewationships, subject terms, and Congressionaw Record citations for debates, fuww text of measures, and Member introductory remarks.

Some CRS reports are avaiwabwe to de pubwic drough de officiaw US Congress website crsreports.congress.gov, dis website was reweased to de pubwic on September 18 2018. Previouswy CRS reports were confidentiaw, whiwe not cwassified dey were exempt from FOIA due to Congressionaw priviwege and derefore not readiwy accessibwe nor was deir audenticity easiwy verifiabwe [9].